Atari Game Manual: Dropzone

DROPZONE

Mission Briefing

It is the year 2085, and only a handful of people have survived the devastating robot wars. In a
final bid for human survival the peoples of the Earth unite to develop the ultimate transportation,
a Tachcon propelled star cruiser, capable of overcoming relatavistic limitations in travelling to
fresh new star systems.

The Tachcon drive relics on bombarding very rare Ionian crystals with quarks. But all the Earth's
resources of the crystals were used up developing a prototype and so .1 consignment of men is

despatched to the hostile young plane! of IO. Jupiter's 2nd inner most moon. It is here that the
crystals arc found in abundance scattered all over the surtax 1 hey are continually thrown up

from the depths of the planet by the elemental forces of the three active volcanoes, first discovered
way back in the 1980's.

Not long after building a moonbasc in the flat bed of a large crater the first wave of aliens arrive

from Jupiter to rid their moon of the human invaders.
It is your mission to protect the men and their crystals from the marauding aliens. You have been
equipped with the latest pulse laser back pack system capable of carrying an extra man and
becoming invisible and indestructible tor short periods of time You must safely escort each
surviving man and his crystals back to the Dropzonc where the landing pad of the moonbasc is
located. You must succeed, the future of mankind depends on you alone.

Hardware Requirements

Dropzonc requires an ATARI personal computer with 48K RAM or more, a disk or cassette is
needed for loading and one joystick.

The Controls

Dropzonc is played with one loystick and to a lesser extent the keyboard.

One laser pulse is released for each up or down motion ol the lire button. Its direction is usually
the one in which you are facing but it is possible to fire backwards by quickly holding the joystick
left or right at the instant ot tiring I his nukes it possible to blast aliens in hot pursuit of you when
trying to out run them.
Horizontal Thrust

To thrust you hold the joystick to the left or right. The longer you thrust for. the faster von
become. To reverse or stop you thrust in the opposite direction.
Vertical Thrust

Tochange your height above IO's surface you push the loystick forwards lor up or backwards for
down. Because oi gray if. von must continually adjust this to maintain your altitude. If you don't
thrust you will eventually fall to the surface.
Strata Bomb Release

One Strata bomb is detonated for each press of the [SPACE] bar. It destroys all aliens except

Androids. Also if a s|v.rc is released occasionally a less trailers will remain.

Cloak Activation

tour indestructible cloaking device „ •.„,.,..,! cr. »r.d f.ff k v pressing -inv ■"•«> 'other than the
(SPACE) bar or the [ESC] key).

Pressing the |HM*| Escape kev will pause the game I'o continue, press any key or move the
joystick.
Starting the Game

When the title page or the Hall of l ame is being displayed the game is begun by pressing either
the joystick lire button or the [START] key.
Restarting the Game

At any point during the game the computer's [RESET] kev can he used to restart the entire game.
This docs not erase the Hall of Fame.

Game Object

Your mission is to protect the men on planet IO's surlace lrom being destroyed by the invading
aliens and to return them one by one to the Dropzonc in which the moonbasc landing pad is

The Screen Display

The main pari ol the screen shows the exact teallniie side view ol the /one over which you are

cruising. Below you hes the tune battered surlace ol l() with its deep crevasses, lava filled
trenches, active volcanoes, the Ionian sea and ancient meteorite c raters In the far distance lie the
twinkling stars ol other planetary wstcim that await man's visitation. The lower part of the screen

indicator, cloaking time remaining, spare ifvcs, strata bombs, score and most importantly a high
speed plane! scanning viewer

Instruments

Man Counts - These show how many many men are currently on the planet's surface and how

many have actually been safely returned to the moonbasc
Attack Indicator - This is an arrow that is displayed the instant an android attack begins on one
of the men still on the surface or the moonbasc itself. It shows the direction and shortest route to

Cloak Status - Shows the amount of time left before the cloak generator runs out of power. A
warning signal is sounded 3 seconds beforehand
Spare Lives - This shows up to 3 of the remaining lives
Strata Bombs - T his shows up to 3 of the remaining strata bombs.
Score - Your accumulative points score.
Scanner-Thlsisthemost important information area It shows what is happening elsewhere on
the entire planet's surlace and covers sis limes the area shown on the main screen. Each member
of the Dropzonecast has a distinct colour key and size. The landing pad is shown as a bright white
cross in the surface detail

The Cast of Characters

Men

At the start of each attack wave the 'Men Out' count will show how many men are on the surface.

They slowly move towards the moonbasc in the Dropzonc, each carrying Ionian crystals
Whenever the alien Planters lower an Android to destroy a man. he lets, ml a whistle for help that
echoes around the atmosphere- You can rescue men by picking them up one at a time and
dropping them off on to the elevated landing pad at the moonbasc for bonus points.
Planters and Androids

Planters arc the most common alien They arc machines piloted by Androids that drift across the
surface rising up over volcanoes and the moonbasc They are always on the look out for the men.
When you attack, the Android lowers nselt to the surtax to chase the man. leaving the Planter

Anti Matter

:n on IO are destroyed, ihe Planters and Androids lose into gyrating Anti-Matter
h bounce towards you IO suffers an earthquake and becomes unstable and the three
volcanoes erupt lethal white hot magma lumps.

h , |

Trailers

cicascd I mm Spores and tan be verv awkward to handle Some will wiggle around in
i sit. tight lot \ou and lollow von everywhere vou go I hev are hard to destroy
and need a direct hit on the heads of their bodies.

These storms ar

er Storm

Nmeyc as their ultimate
HI and successive Nmcvcs

Generally the three acme volcanoes arc harmless I hev shoot small magma lumps out onto the
surface. However, if all men arc lost the planet's surface becomes unstable and the volcanoes erupt
deadly white hot lumps.

Planters. N'emesites. Antimatter and Nmcvcs cm shoot small bright bombs at you. If you
continue moving with the same velocity these will destroy you.

Other Features

You get 1 bonus life and strata bomb for "every 10.000 point mark that you reach and 7 seconds
extra cloak power tor each .save Alter I .ooo.ooo points has been achieved no more bonus lives or

strata bombs will be awarded (But if you arc that good you shouldn't need them!)
A wave is finished by destroying all planters, spores, trailers, blunder storms and landing all the
men back at the moonbasc. You receive a points bonus at the end of every attack wave for the
number of rescued men multiplied by the wave number, up to a maximum of 500 points per man.

You also get this for landing each man during the wave.
Every' 5th wave a I recti consignment ol men arrives Prior to this round vou will have to battle

through a THAI I PR INVASION wave with the chance of scoring many points.
The game has attack waves numbering 1 to 99. After 99 waves 95 to 99 arc repealed. Each wave
is entirely random in action and warp-on entry 1 .
If you lose a life whilst carrying a man he will be replaced on the surface.
If you save and land all eight men then no more android attacks will occur for the rest of that wave.
BUT if you have saved less than eight men then every now and then one android will actually
invade the m oo nb Mt bj descending M to the landing pad and running into the moonbasc.

If at the end of the mission life vou have gained a sullicicnily high sane vou will be asked to enter
your initials in to the Dropzonc Hall ol l ame I his will be accompanied by a special dynamic
colour sequence to signify thai vou are one of the top eight heroes to attempt a Dropzone mission.

Mission Rating

a, hicvcthc I i'i ."(Hi marl and « ill not receive a rank. An average score might gel you MoonC
MKGASTAR. This is universally regarded as the ultimate galactic distinction'possiWc'a'nd «

Strategy

The method you adopt is best found by cxperiei
co-ordination and reflexes required to cor

For example, you might find that waning to destroy Androids as thev fall to the surface is the best
way to build up a score. Or vou might rescue all the men as quickly as vou can. But remember,

Ihe Nmeyc will be sent in to sort you out il vou take too long Also the strategy you adopt will
partly depend on how far the men are trom the moonbasc at the start ol cadi wave. This isdifferent

for every round except lor the verv first winc h is alw ays lairlycasy.
The newcomer to Drop/one will probably thrust too much, i educing reaction tune to oncoming

aliens. It is best to thrust only occasionally and to clear up each area ol activity as you find it.
Listen out for the whistles of help that echo around theplanei i >n hearing i hem, use the direction

indicator and scanner to locate the trouble II vou have to race hallway across IO to protect a man
then kecpa watchful com the seamier as this will lore-warn you ol any oncoming aliens I Iscyour

in on you. To destroy them will take some practice at out

at exactlv the point when thev arc level with you.
Use of the cloak will help vou in many situations such as picking up a man nisi before he is about
lo hf rWmwH hv rh>- Android, or landinr men whilst being hht/ed by an Nmcvc.
Trailers have a personality ol their own Once learnt, ihe 1 r.ulct Invasion waves can be quickly-
completed The cloak is useful here as well.
Always keep an eye on Blunder Storms. Before they strike they rumble different colours for about
a second giving vou ihe chance to gel mil o| ihe yyjy When moving lasl.i heck thai any oncoming

If all the men die an earthquake occurs and Anti-Mattel appears everywhere. Because the
volcanoes are now dangerous it is best to stay in one region between two volcanoes and use your
cloak if you have to pass over one. II vou lose a hie trom colliding with a lump of magma, you will
re matcn isc over t c same space. you must gu out . the way quickly or else you will lose

Scoring

Men - 100 - 500 points for rescuing during wave; Men 100 - 500 points for each man surviving
the wave; Men 0 points if destroyed; Android - 50 points if shot while descending with Planter;
Android -50 points if shot whilst chasing a man; Android 500 points if shot when falling from a

destroy ed Planter; Planters - 250 points; N'emesites - 150 points; Anti matter - 150 points;
Blunder Storms - 250 points; Spores - 750 points; Trailers 250 points; Nmcvcs - 100 poults;
Loss of life - 10 points.